Ai of the Desert
by Sayu-fu
Summary: Ai is an average kunoichi from the Sand Village, but when she meets Gaara her world is flipped upside down. With Gaara and her best friend Mae on her team, this is the story of romance, angst, and adventure. But mostly angst! NOW OFF HIATUS
1. Gaara

**YAY!!!!! This is my Gaara story!**

Ai walked into her new school's office. She stood in a long line, her navy uniform skirt just above her knees, and her gray top tucked neatly underneath her brown belt. She fingered her violet scarf nervously, when she noticed the boy in front of her. His hair was bright crimson, and there was an odd gourd on his back. She ignored it and decided to check her long black hair in the compact mirror that was in her bag. Minutes later, it was the odd boy's turn, and he handed a note to the secretary. She read the note quietly and stunned, avoiding eye contact.

"H-have a nice day, Gaara", she said nervously. Ai saw the boy walk past and her blue eyes met his moss-green eyes. They appeared sad and lonely, and there were dark rings under them, most likely from lack of sleep. She felt so sorry for him.

"Next", called the secretary. Ai stepped forward and asked quietly for a class chart and period list. It read:

**1st Period: Training**

**2nd Period: Team Training**

**3rd Period: On-on-One Sparring**

**4th Period: Lunch**

**6th: Math**

**7th: English**

**8th: Scrolls and Weapons**

Ai found her 1st period class and walked in. Everyone stared at her, but then a purple haired girl walked up to her.

"Are you new?" she asked curiously.

"Ummmm... yes, and this the training class, right?"

"Yeah, but our sensei isn't here...yet", the girl continued,"but feel free to take a seat." The girl gestured around her, and Ai sat down in one of the blue chairs. "We normally don't do much training when the teacher is late, so make yourself comfortable." she explained, " I'm Mae by the way. Do you have anything to do after school?" "_She talks alot, but she can't be that bad..."_ Ai thought.

"No, Mae, I don't have anything to do after school."

"Great, you can come to my pla-", Mae was cut off by a Jonin walking in with the gourd boy.

"Gaara, take a seat", the Jonin told him. The boy, Ai guessed was named Gaara, walked over to her, and just stood there.

"You're in my seat", he said quietly.

"Oh, I am? I'm sorry." she replied, embarrassed, and moved one seat over. Everyone stared at her, but then looked back to their sensei.

" Alright, class", the teacher said, "We have a new student today, and her name is... Ay."

"Excuse me sensei, but I think that you've mispronounced my name", Ai said, "My name is Ai."

"Yes of course, well, training will start tomorrow, and you better be ready for it."

Then the bell rang, and everyone started to leave. "_I guess sensei was really late, considering the bell rang when he finished talking." _Ai thought.

The period passed quickly, and Ai was already friends with Mae.

"You have to be careful around him", Mae said,as they walked to second period, pointing to Gaara, "Nobody wants to be around him." When they arrived, everyone was lined up against the wall. Mae followed suit, but took the last place away from Gaara, leaving one spot left. Ai walked over next to him, and looked to the teacher.

"Everyone has to be divided into new teams", said the teacher,"As most of you know, we have a new student, Ai." He began to call students into groups of two, leaving only two people left, Gaara, and herself. "Kumino Ai and Gaara." he called. Then everyone walked into corners of the room, where there were large wooden floors, and a Jonin stood at each one. Gaara walked over to the last square, and Ai followed. They had a Jonin that pretty much looked like all the others.

"So they finally gave you a team member, eh Gaara-sama?" said the teacher,"Well", he said to Ai, "I'm Baki, but you can call me sensei." He examined her up and down, finally saying, "Lets see what you can do." Ai crouched down, and she started making hand signs. Finally she disappeared onto the ceiling, and grabbed a shuriken that landed precisely two inces from Baki.

"Not bad", he said, "Not bad at all." "_Thats all?! Not bad?! I worked on that jutsu for a week, and all this guy can say is not bad?!! " _she thought. She suddenly flipped down, and moved almost inhuman speed behind Gaara. She removed a kunai from her belt, and placed it next to his neck. Then, his gourd uncorked, and an arm of sand came out, and pulled the knife from her hand. She breathed slowly, and then backed away.

"For anyone else, you would be a tough opponent, but for me, you are almost easy to defeat." Gaara told her.

"Gaara-kun for me, you are a lot tougher than any shinobi I've ever faced." Ai said in return.

"Only one person has ever defeated me, and only three have ever touched me in battle."

"Then... Are you really that powerful?" she said in a scared tone.

"Yes."

The next period was no different. She became sparring partners with Gaara. At one point, Gaara even said, "Stop holding back, I know you can do better." Ai was trying, but the thought of hurting him was just overwhelming. Those lonely eyes that were almost painful to look at. During sparring he didn't wear his gray uniform jacket, and she noticed the belt-like leather strap, that held the gourd of sand. Finally, after at least an hour and a half of sparring, the class ended, and she began to walk to lunch. Then she spotted Gaara and ran up to him.

"Hey, Gaara-kun!" She called, "Do you wanna have lunch with Mae-chan and I?"

He just shrugged and walked with her. She walked up to Mae, and they each picked up a bento box.

"Where do you usually eat, Gaara?" Mae asked curiously.

"Basement. With my brother and sister." he said, plainly and quietly. He motioned for them to follow, and they did. They walked down five hallways and two flights of stairs. Then there was a door, which he quickly opened. They entered the dimly lit room, where two people were sitting on a wood table. One was a girl with blonde hair in two blonde pigtails on each side, who had a huge fan tied to her back. The other was a boy, with a black hooded sweatshirt over the gray school jacket. For some reason, he wore a ton of purple make-up all over his face. He looked ridiculous, especially with the huge thing on his back that was the size of a human, but was wrapped up tautly.

"Temari, Kankurou", Gaara said,"this is Ai and Mae. They're my new friends."

"Gaara!" Temari said, "YOU have _friends?!"_

"This is surprising?"Ai asked.

"He's never actually had a friend." Kankurou explained.

"Wow." said Mae.

"Who's that?!!!" Ai screamed. A figure walked through the door.


	2. School Boredom

**ZOMG!!!!! CHAPTER TWO IS OUT!**

**Yeah, I know it took a while, but I had writer's block. :P I EDITED IT JUST NOW!  
**

**Special thanks to: Luna Forest, my Beta reader, and editor, (not grammar-wise)**

**FearTheFan, my sister, she gave me some ideas, and crap. My friends, yeah they rock against the rock! Myself, for being creative enough to write. To OOCness Also, the disclaimer, who wants to read it?**

**Kankurou: I do, I do!**

**Here you go then..**

**Kankurou: GaaraXXX doesn't own Naruto, but she does own Ai, Mae, and this story. Nor does she own me. **

**P.S. In my story, Gaara is slightly normal-ish. **

Then the figure walked into the light, to reveal a figure in a green spandex jumpsuit, with a red Konoha headband tied around his waist. His hair was black and glossy, and it looked freakish, like someone put a bowl on his head, then cut his hair, which probably happened. His wide grin widened to show his teeth, and then dramatically sparkled. All of a sudden, and older version of him ran behind him, and struck an awkward pose, consisting of making the peace sign, and standing girlishly.

"WTF!! Who the hell are you?!" Temari said, obviously freaked out by the odd pair.

"You mean you don't remember!" the boy shouted, and their poses slouched down, their sweat dropping.

"Oh yeah, you're the freaks from the preliminaries!" Kankurou said.

"Speak for yourself, make-up boy!" the boy said, obviously offended, "And since there's two new people here, I'll introduce myself! I am the-"

"Rock Lee, the 'Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha.'" Gaara cut off. "Lee, why did you come here anyways?"

"The beautiful green what?" Mae giggled.

"Well, lets say I wanted to see the crazy evil little boy who kicked my butt."

"Lee, go away." Gaara finished.

"B-But why?!" he said, then turning to the guy behind him, "Gai-sensei, he h-hates me!"

"I would too, considering we just barged in while he was clearly putting the moves on his new _girlfriend_." the larger man, apparently Gai laughed.

"GIRLFRIEND?!" Ai screamed, her face turning red. She hurled up her arm, and smacked them straight out of the room! The two had two huge bruises, and started running. "The nerve of some people." she said, calming down.

"That was kinda scary." Mae said, surprised. They then continued eating, trying to forget that ever happened.

**BRING BRING**.

"How'd you get the bell system to work all the way down here?" Ai asked.

"Kankurou's big at computers. He installed speakers that connected to the bell system." Temari replied, as if everyone knew that. Kankurou grunted in agreement. They all filed out, and Mae went off to her next class, Kankurou walked off to technology class, Temari went to her free period, where she'd repair her weapons. Gaara went to math with Ai. Math went by for Ai easily, because it was one of her strong points. Suddenly, she remembered something from her childhood.

**FlashBack!(Spiffy, isn't it?) POOF**

Ai was watching her father repair a weapon from the front steps of her porch. It was made of extremely sharp paper, that could be tipped with poison, or sometimes bits of metal. Her family had been using them for years, but Ai was not yet old enough to use one. She watched carefully, and then asked, "Father, when will I be old enough to be a shinobi?"

"The day you recieve the Sunakagure headband will be that day you are a shinobi." he replied. Then he handed her the weapon, and she gently handled it, then returned it.

"Father, I promise to become the best ninja I can!"

**Reverse FlashBack POOF**

"Ai? Ai?!" The teacher said impatiently, "Class is over. You can go now!" Ai stood up, slightly dazed, and began walking to English. Gaara was waiting at the door.

"Do you have English for seventh period too, Gaara-kun?" Ai asked, hopefully. Gaara nodded, and they walked together, just close enough to show that they were friends. "Gaara?" Ai said.

"Hn." Gaara responded.

"Why didn't you have friends before?"

"You don't know?" he said coldly.

"No, I don't."

"Because I'm a monster." time seemed to stop, and everything moved in slow motion. "When I was born, I killed the woman I was to call my mother. The demon, Shukaku, was trapped in me. They spoiled me, until i was deemed too dangerous to the village." Ai stared into his icy eyes, and felt a deep pain in her stomach. The feeling was pity, pity for her new friend. "My father sent out assassins, people I thought I trusted, to kill me," Gaara continued. "I hated everyone, even my family, and killed whoever was in my way. Then I met _him. _Naruto. He taught me that true strength comes from love, and the willpower to protect those close to oneself." Ai felt tears well up in her eyes, and she moved slightly closer to him. Before they knew it, they were at the door to the English room. Ai bowed to the sensei, respectfully.

Class went by as a normal one would. Ai couldn't get the image of those sad, cold eyes. The day passed, and Ai walked home with Mae.

"Hey Mae?" Ai asked.

"Yeah" The purple-haired kunoichi replied.

"What do you think of Gaara?"

"He scares me, but," Mae said, narrowing her onyx eyes,"I think he likes you."

"That's crazy. You're starting to sound like the wierdo in the spandex."

"Me?" she said, with a mock surprised look on her face and a hand pointing at herself, "No! I just think that you look cute together! Anyway, sorry, I just remembered that I can't have anyone over today."

"Whatever." Ai said rolling her blue eyes playfully. They stopped in front of Ai's house, and she waved good-bye, walking in. "Mom! Dad! I'm home!" There was no reply. She walked into the kitchen and found a note. It read:

_Dear Ai-chan._

_The Sunakagure Council has sent us on a long mission, and won't be returning for a while. Remember to brush your teeth and re-stock the food next week!_

_Ever-loving,_

_Mother and Father._

Ai just shrugged, this wasn't any new. Last time they were gone for three months. Ai remembered suddenly that earlier in the day, Mae asked her to call her. _Might as well call now._ She thought. She walked over to the sleek white phone on the counter and punched in Mae's number. Four rings and Mae finally picked up. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mae."

"Oh, hi Ai!"

"You wanted me to call you earlier...?"

"Oh, right, right! I remember getting a note from school that we'd finally be put into our official ninja groups tomorrow."

"Great."

They continued on the subject, Mae going on about how she's getting closer to become her dream, a black op. They chatted for hours, until finally Ai told Mae she had to get dinner ready. Ai pulled out a cup of instant ramen and prepared it on the counter. Then she poured it into a bowl and pulled out a set of wooden chopsticks. "Itadimasu!" she said to no one in particular, and scarfed it down. Then she pulled out a bottle of passionfruit green tea and poured it into a cup, and drank it slowly, savoring the mildly sweet flavor. The process of getting ready for bed passed quickly, and then she passed out the second her head hit the pillow.

**Short chapter, yeah! I edited it! Review, yeah, Gaara needs it, or else he'll go all Shukaku demon on us all! Ai needs it, yeah, or she'll punch you like she punched Gai and Lee! OO. I'll update soon as I can, yeah.**


	3. Training Begins

**Okay, new chapter, I hope you all are enjoying this! First, I'd like to thank: Ayumi-chan, and Genji-chan, my two best friends. Next, I'd like to thank FearTheFan, my older sister. On with the story, yeah!**

* * *

Ai woke up, stretching her thin arms while she yawned. Somehow, she had woken at five AM. She shrugged, and turned off her alarm before it would bug her an hour later. She flipped on the light in her room, and the room was illuminated in the soft yellowish light. Walking over to her dresser, she pulled off her blue silk nightdress and opened the top wooden drawer, and pulled out her mesh under-outfit and deep green bra. She pulled on the mesh from her legs up, lacing it up in the front, then pulling the bra over her head. Walking over to her closet, she put on the ugly uniform, and tied the lavender scarf around her neck. Quickly, she brushed her shiny black hair and tied on the purple forehead protector.** (like Sakura does, only with a bit of her bangs in her face.) **She ran into the kitchen and grabbed an apple, quickly eating the most she could before walking into the desert light outside. She grabbed the book bag off the counter and then remembered something. She ran out of the house and into the small shed in the sandy yard. She picked up a cold iron fan, and dropped it into her bag, and she ran off in the early morning light. 

The sand blew harshly in her face, and Ai pulled her scarf up over her mouth. She squinted, and then she saw the large gray building up ahead. "Finally" she whispered to herself. She opened the doors, and walked into the school. She passed a few students, most of them being ninja, in small groups by lockers and doors. _I probably should go find Gaara and the others _she thought. She walked by the basement door, when she remembered that that was where they would probably be, and opened it, the harsh light from below filling the room. She spotted Gaara, Kankurou and Temari, sitting around their lunch table, seemingly just hanging there.

"Hey Ai!" Kankurou called lazily.

"Hi!" Temari greeted accordingly.

"Hn. Hey." Gaara grunted.

Temari did a double take, staring at Gaara with surprise, but then turned back to Ai. Kankurou was sitting, typing on the computer with one hand, making a small wood puppet do an odd dance with the other.

"Hi" Ai responded, waving gently, closing the door.

No sooner had she closed it, however, had it flung open again, a girl with long purple hair burst in.

"Ai! Hi, remember how I told you about the new teams?"

"Yeah, but I thought that teams were for life."

"Normally, but you came up, and then a little 'incident' last year messed some stuff up." Mae said, glaring at Temari and Kankurou. They dropped there heads in defeat.

"RiGhT" Ai said trying to keep up.

"Anyway, I just felt like reminding you." Mae finished, a wide, hyper smile on her face. Ai looked at her with an expression that read 'You went through all of that to tell me something I already knew?' Looking her up and down, she noticed something strapped to Mae's back.

"Hey Mae, what's that?" Ai inquired.

"Oh, this?" she said, pointing at the leather strap. "It's just my katana. I brought it because we normally do some kind of big training for the teams." Temari got up and walked over to Mae, eying the sword. _I guess it was a good idea to bring the fan._

"May I?" she asked, pointing to it.

"Sure, I guess." Mae pulled out the sword and handed it carefully to Temari. She took it gently and held it, fingering the smooth blade. She placed one hand on the hilt, and held it firmly.

"Hey, Kankurou, take a look at this." She called, and Kankurou dropped his puppet and folded up his laptop, Gaara following to see the commotion. Kankurou took it bye the hilt and held it with the same firmness as his sister.

"Wow, it's a Yuuna chakra blade!" He exclaimed, obviously impressed by the blade in front of him. "So that makes you a Yuuna, right?"

"Yeah." She blushed, and looked down, motioning for it back. Ai lost interest and looked over to where Gaara was standing. He looked like he was staring into space, but with more of a purpose. Ai cocked her head, and looked up to where he was looking. _Nothing! _Ai tapped his shoulder and he nearly jumped. He whirled around, his blue eyes flaming. She jumped back in fear, the rest of the group not paying attention, but still talking to Mae about her sword. Gaara blinked in a startled manner, like he had just woken up from a dream.

"Gaara-kun, are you… OK?" Ai asked, frightfully.

"I… I think so.." A strident ring suddenly vibrated through the basement. BRING!BRING! Temari looked up at the clock, and so did Kankurou and Mae.

"Looks like we have to get to class." Kankurou sighed. Temari shut her eyes, and held up a hand to keep Kankurou from leaving.

"No, wait a minute."

"But Temariiiiii…." He whined, causing Mae to release a small girlish giggle.

"I SAID WAIT!" She snapped. Quite unexpectedly, the crackling noise of the PDA system filled the room. "Ahem.. This is the Principal, and we have received news from the Sunakagure Council, that due to the…erm.. _Incident_ last year, there will be a recall on all teams. Everyone is to report to the auditorium IMMEDIATELY! Pay no attention to the bell." The voice blared.

"I told you so Kankurou." Temari said, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever." He said, punching her arm playfully. The group filed out of the basement and up the stairs, first Temari, then Kankurou and Mae, and last Gaara and Ai. As they walked out, Ai and Mae were given sideways glances and glares from angry students. Mae kept her gaze straight ahead, and Ai just looked down at the floor. Pretty soon, they reached the auditorium doors. It was a large room with mats set neatly on the floor. Most of the seats in the back were taken, and to avoid the stares and vicious comments, Mae proposed to sit in the front. Ai sat conservatively on her legs, her skirt pulled over her knees. After what seemed like seconds, the principal, a tall man in his 50s, stepped onto the lit up stage.

"Ahem." He cleared his voice, running his hand through his graying hair. "As you heard in the announcement earlier, there is a recall on all teams in this school." A silver-haired council man in the corner nodded, as if this was all too necessary. "And will be giving the teams codenames, so that any other villages will not uncover your true team numbers, possibly exposing secrets of our own village…" He rambled on in his speech about the village, and such. "….So our first team is Team Ainiuero, and the official number is 145." He said this proudly, as if he was announcing the winners of a contest.

_This guy is so BORING! _Ai screamed in her head. "Now as I say the team members names, you will come onto the stage…" _We're not dumb! Cut the speech and hurry up! _"… Kumino Ai!" Ai looked up, and rose up nervously, smoothing her skirt. She stepped up onto stage, attempting to be as oblivious as possible to the people in front of her. _Oh Kami. THIS might be embarrassing. I'm in front of an entire school, and now two of them are going to be on my team._ "Yuuna Mae!" Mae walked up with a cool, calm, face. She gave Ai the peace sign quickly, and stood there. "And last, Gaara." He finished. Gaara, instead of walking, disappeared in a cloud of sand, then re-appeared on stage next to Ai. _Thank the Lord! This may just be bearable. _"These are the members of Team Ainiuero. Alright, now then, you are to report to this area on the campus." He said handing them a small sheet of paper. "From there your new sensei will tell you what to do."

* * *

"Finally! Our destination!" Mae nearly yelled. Ai winced from being to close her loud and talkative teammate. Gaara looked around the sandy training grounds, seeing not a thing. 

"Where the hell is this guy?" Ai complained. She heard a scuffle, and prepared a kunai. Another scuffle, and Ai tossed it at the area of the noise, in this case, a log nailed into the ground.

"Good job!" a womanish voice called from behind the log. The woman, in a Sand Jounin jacket pulled herself on top of the log. "I didn't expect any of you to be able to hear me. You have quite the ear." The woman was a tall brunette, with tanned skin and green eyes.

"This is just a guess, but would you be our sensei?" Mae questioned sarcastically.

"That would be correct. Now, to start, I'm going to ask you all some basic questions about yourself." Gaara shifted his gaze over to a bird chiping on the fence. "Lets start with you, the red head." He turned his vision over to the woman. "I'm asking you your name, what you like, what you dislike, and your dreams for the future."

"I am Gaara. I can't say that I like anything, I dislike many things, and my dreams… Hn.. To be accepted."

"Right. Now then, you, with the purple hair."

"I'm not saying anything until I know who YOU are first."

"Ah. Spoken like any true ninja. Well, my name is Machiko, of the Oki clan, and I like students who have potential, I dislike lazy kids, and my dream.. Hmm…. It looks like I've already achieved that."

"Alright sensei. I'm Yuuna Mae, I like weapons, jutsu, training, and friends, I dislike anyone who gets in my way, and my dream is to become an ANBU black op."

"Hmm… That leaves just you."

"Umm.. Right… I'm Kumino Ai.. I like the different kinds of tea, rice, training.." She hesitated "… And I dislike when my parents are out on missions, and people who think that younger people are useless.. I guess." Machiko nodded. Mae smiled. Gaara just grunted a little. Ai continued, "My dream… Is to… I dunno, show that I _am_ a ninja to my father." Mae looked a little confused, and Gaara seemed to be paying attention just a little.

"Very good. Now then students, pay close attention, this one was tough, even for my best students." Machiko said in a stern voice. "I will perform a series of genjutsu on each of you, and you must find a way to break it." Their sensei glanced around at them, each returning a determined gaze back. "Any and all weapons are permitted, as are kekkei-genkai." After she said this, she began to perform a series of handsigns, she said, "Children, this may disturb you. _Choukikioku Naitomea no Jutsu!_" Ai began to feel dizzy….

* * *

Ai was frightened. Her clothes and hair were drenched in cold sweat. "Ai.. Ai.. Open your eyes Ai.." a smooth and spine-chilling voice called. She grinded her teeth together, and clasped her hands over her ears. She wouldn't open her eyes."No!" She screamed shrilly. _Keep my eyes closed… Don't fully succumb to the genjutsu! _Ai thought. The sinister voice continued to echo, and she couldn't handle it much longer. Her eyes burst open, and her father, covered in blood was walking around her, like a lion stalking its prey. She bit her lip, blood dripping out of it and onto the black floor. Fear was building up inside of her, she was sweating like crazy. She reached down to her kunai pack, and threw one of the sharp black knives into the monster's chest. It pounced onto her, its lifeless eyes staring through her, and its torn skin dripping blood on her. Her chakra boiled, making her heat up. _Think! I can't go on much longer like this! _"_Hakidasu Iruujon no Jutsu: Illusion Release!_" She cried. The demonic image faded, and Ai began to flutter her eyes open. 

"Amazing!" Machiko-sensei exclaimed, "What jutsu did you use to release my genjutsu?"

"The 'Hakidasu Iruujon' counter-jutsu.." Ai replied quietly.

"Where did you learn such a jutsu? Only a few Jounin know it."

"I'd rather not say.." Her sensei stared at her, as if she had a horn sticking out of her skull.

"Well. Then I guess you can go home now." Machiko waved, and Ai started to walk away, looking back at Gaara and Mae still twitching violently, and she wondered what nightmares could be inflicted on them..

* * *

**End of Chapter 3! WOO! Longest chapter I've ever written! From here on out, just so you know, the three won't go to the Highschool, but instead they'll go through average ninja routines. (Practice, training, etc.) Also, the jutsu I wrote weren't real, but I did some research on Japanese words, and made them up. Bye! Hope you enjoy!**


	4. A Sudden Tragedy

**New chapter! Yeah, I'm out of school as of June 1****st****! Remember to review, my readers, or else. -- Anyway, on with the story! Also, use the link at the bottom of the page to translate any unfamiliar words. If you can't find them, then oh well.**

**"Spoken words"**

**'Quote'**

**_"Thoughts"_  
**

_**Little known Japanese term**_

Ai woke up in her room. As she got up, she nearly put on her school uniform, but instead dug through her closet. _'Aw crap. Nothing fit for training!'_ she screamed in her mind. Just then, she had an idea. _'Mom's closet!' _She ran down the hallway, and continued into her parent's room. Wrenching open the closet door, she began digging into the very back. She occasionally held something up, but tossed it back down after looking at it. Finally, she found a blue top with bell sleeves that laced up in the back. It had a matching skirt that slit at the thigh, and both had braided brown rope at the edges. _"It'll have to do." _Ai shrugged, taking it back to her room. She pulled off the nightclothes, and went through the daily procedure of pulling on her bra and lacing up the fishnet mesh. She took the clothes and laced it up tightly so it would fit better. As she left the house, she was sure to take her large leather bag that held her big iron fan.

Ai arrived at the sandy training grounds and found Gaara already there. He motioned for her to come over there, and she complied.

"Heh, whats up?" She asked curiously.

"Do you want to spar?" He asked her in his monotone.

"Umm… Ok." She distanced herself a fair distance away, and formed a fighting stance. Gaara back up and crossed his arms. Then the spar commenced.

Dust flew through Ai's face, as she pulled out her weapon. As she expected, the fan was incredibly lightweight. She swung the fan around, and a short air current flew torwards Gaara. The normally razor sharp current was blocked by a barricade of sand. She gritted her teeth, and striked the air even harder. Sand began to fall in small grains, but still managed to block the air. "Well this isn't working." She muttered under her breath.

A half hour past, and Ai collapsed on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Gaara asked, reaching out a hand.

"Yeah. Just a little wiped out." She panted.

"Oh! Hey Ai! Hey Gaara!" A familiar voice called out. Both turned their heads, and saw Mae, their purple haired teammate. Ai took Gaara's hand, and climbed up. She gave a slight wave towards Mae, and Gaara grunted. Mae engaged in conversation that Ai didn't really pay attention to, and Gaara stared off at the clouds.

Machiko observed her students over the edge of the roof, attentively watching every action. _"Hmm.. Ai is a little over decent fighter, but Gaara.. he's near impossible cto beat. I wonder how good Mae is with that sword.. I guess I'll just have to find out today." _She thought to herself. She tossed her weight over the side of the roof, landing skillfully on the ground.

"Alright! Training begins now!" She shouted once she got her footing. "Its pretty basic, one-on-one sparring." Ai sighed, she had just finished sparring. "The process will go like this: Ai versus Mae, then the winner faces Gaara."

Ai decided that it would be best not to start off with her fan. _"If I apply enough chakra into my blows, I should win easily."_ She grabbed a kunai and prepared it. _"Here I go!" _She ran forward, applying chakra into each step and into the kunai. Mae saw her coming, and shot her hand up to her back, readying her sword. Before Ai could lay a hit, the clang of metal was heard. The kunai and katana had clashed together, and the two pressed against eachother. _"What was it Kankurou said about Mae's sword…?"_ Ai thought. Mae had overpowered Ai, sending her flying a few feet back. Ai had felt the chakra being sucked from her kunai. _"Damn it. Now I remember. Chakra blade. Oh crap."_ Ai figured to change her strategy. Ai backed up, until the two were a few feet away from eachother. Ai returned her kunai to its pouch, and replaced it with six shuriken. She pulled her arms into position, crossed against her chest. She applied chakra once more into her feet, jumping against a nearby log, and flung them at Mae. Mae saw them coming, and reached her thumb around to a near-invisible button toward the bottom of the edge, and pressed it. Instantly, another side to shot out, and she spun it around, deflecting all the metal shuriken. _"Crap. That didn't work. Alright, taijutsu then." _Ai formed a quick seal, and ran toward Mae. Mae whacked Ai, which dissappeared in a puff of smoke, and was replaced with a log.

"A substitution?!" Mae shouted.

"Haha! You've been logged!" Ai shouted, as she jumped, and kicked the weapon out of Mae's hands.

"Shit." Ai landed a high kick into Mae's stomach, who fought back with a hard punch to the shoulder. Ai continued pumping chakra all around into her body, and tried to kick the purple haired girl off her feet, but Mae quickly crouched down, and yanked Ai's foot away, sending her off into the sand.

In the end, it was midday, and Mae had defeated Ai with a hard punch to the jaw. Machiko-sensei looked over at the sun.

"Sorry, but we're out of time for today. Next time, Mae can have her match with Gaara." Mae shrugged, and Ai rubbed her sore jaw. Gaara began to walk off.

"See ya later Mae!" Ai called as she waved goodbye. "Bye Gaara!" Gaara grunted a little, and gave a little wave. Ai began to walk home.

As Ai approached her house, she saw three masked ANBU at the door. _"What the hell?"_ She thought.

"Ummm… Why are you here?" She asked. One of the ANBU turned to the one next to him. The other nodded.

"I'm sorry Ai-san." He said sympathetically.

"Why? Did something bad happen?" She asked, confused.

"Ai-san… Your parents are dead."

"What?! No! They-They can't be!" She shoved her way past them, and ran into her house. "Mom?! Dad?!" She yelled. She sprinted to their room, and saw something she would never forget. The bedroom was stained with blood, and her parents were sprawled motionless on the floor. She rushed over to her parents, and bent over. Her father's eyes were open, and were glazed over, the green color they once were faded to an eternal gray. "Dad…" A kunai was through his heart, cuts and gashes criss-crossed everywhere over his skin and clothes. She turned to her mother, whose condition was just as terrible. Her eyes were rolled into the back of her head. Blood trickled out from her mouth, and a deep gash was in her neck. A kunai was also through her heart. Ai removed the kunai from her parents bodies, and shut their eyes. One of the ANBU had walked in, and crouched down next to her. He gathered her up into a sympathetic embrace. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she began to sob. "Why?..." she whimpered.

"They had just come back from their mission in the Waterfall Village…" The masked ninja whispered. "When they reached their bedroom, a Rain Ninja was there, and murdered them. They… couldn't fight back." The ANBU seemed sad as well. "I-I'm Hiroshi. Your father… he was my best friend." The man removed his bird mask, and revealed his face. He had dark tanned skin, and deep brown hair. Ai sobbed, and a single tear fell down the man's face. "A funeral has been arranged for them tonight." His voice cracked, "You need to come."

Three hours had passed since Ai had arrived home. She had removed the wedding necklace from her mother's neck. It was the only thing on the body that she didn't want to be burned. She was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling, when she heard a knock on the door.

"Ai?" A familiar voice called through the door. "Ai, it's me. I heard about the funeral." Ai got up, and opened the front door. Mae was there, her purple hair tied back in a low ponytail. She was wearing an entirely black kimono. "Ai, you probably should get ready now." She said in an unusually quiet tone. Ai nodded, and went back to her closet. She pulled out a black kimono with a white obi and put it on. She braided her long black hair, and put on her aqua colored earrings. She saw her mother's neclace on her dresser, and strung it around her neck. She walked out, the two of them heading towards the cemetery. As they walked in silence, Gaara joined them. He was in a black _jinbei_ with a black _obi_. They continued walking without a word. When they finally reached the cemetery, it was full of other ninja, including Kankurou and Temari. They walked over to them. Temari managed a smile, and waved. Kankurou waved slightly.

"Hey." He said nearly inaudibly. Mae walked up to them first and blushed when Kankurou looked at her.

"Hey."She managed to whisper. They turned around when a tapping was heard over the microphone.

"Excuse me. Could Kumino Ai please come up for her speech?" The raspy voice of a council member asked. The group turned to Ai, and she turned down her head, and walked up to the podium. The cold night air blew her hair and skirt, and she nervously pushed her fingers together.

"Uh… Well, my parents were good people. My mother's name was Etsu, and loved to arrange flowers. My father's name was Fudo, and loved playing shoji. I-I remember when I was younger…" Ai choked back tears. "We used to get together somewhere and have a picnic." She brushed a tear from her cheek. "Dad would show me his forehead protector and tell about being a ninja." People looked at her puzzled "And when I came home from the Academy, he'd show me our family's signature weapon." More tears rolled down her cheeks. "He said that I could have it when I proved myself as a ninja to him. H-he a-a-also said that it had saved him whenever he was in a-a life or d-death situation." She stuttered as she sniffed back tears, which came down anyway, "I-I guess it didn't save him this time. I only wish I could have proven myself to him." Ai was now sobbing, tears pattering down onto the wood of the podium. "Th-they…. They didn't deserve to die!..." She clenched her fists. A sharp pain stung in her heart. She ran from the podium, tears streaming. She tried to run from the cemetery itself, but before she could, Gaara grabbed her.

"You shouldn't run from your pain." He whispered gently. She buried her face into his shirt, wrapping her arms around his neck. He looked down at her, surprised at first, but then wrapped his arms around her waist, and patted her back.

"But….but it hurts so much…" She whimpered.

"If you don't endure it… It might never go away." He consoled. She sniffled, and looked back up at the funeral procession. The two ANBU who had been at Ai's house, and Hiroshi, carried her father's body, and two other shinobi carried her mother. White roses surrounded the bodies, as well as white orchids, Etsu's favorite flower. As the bodies were laid on a table, a line began to say final goodbyes, and place a flower on the body before it was burned. The line began with Hiroshi and the now unmasked ANBU, each holding two white roses. The line went on, and finally, it was Ai and Gaara's turn. Gaara still had his arm around her waist. He released her and said, "Go say goodbye."

She walked towards the table, and took one white rose, and one daffodil.

"Sayonara, _Okkasan_." She whispered as she set the daffodil on her mother's chest. "Sayonara, _Otottsan_." She whispered as she laid the rose on her father's chest. "I wish you both good luck in the after life." She let two more tears fall. One landed on her father's face, the other on her mother's. She walked off, Gaara soon following, and she returned to his embrace.

** Gaara's POV**

Before I re-joined Ai, I asked her parents to watch her. Normally, I don't think I would have done this for anyone else. But somehow, when I'm around her, I feel…. different. Like I know that someone else can care about me besides myself.

**Yeah I know, depressing, but I felt emo when I came up with it, and liked the idea. Review, please, flames welcome, just try not to be too harsh. I hope you enjoyed!**

_**Dictionary link: ****http://linear. ****http://en.**_

_**For the word "Jinbei" look it up on Wikipedia.  
**_


	5. Restart

**Here we are, Chapter 5! This is the continuation of the funeral, and some other stuff. Thank you all my reviewers, I love you all. (But not that way.)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Gaara still had his arm around Ai, and she was cuddled close to him, the cool night air rustling their clothes. They watched as a torch was brought out, and was put dangerously close to the bodies of Ai's parents. The councilman who was holding the torch intentionally let the flame catch onto the flowers and bodies, setting them ablaze. The sight could be called beautiful, the orange flames dancing in the wind. Ai let the last of her tears roll out, and hugged Gaara even closer. The flesh of her parents was reduced to cinders, and their ashes were blown away by the wind. They seemed to disappear into the night sky, morphing in with the stars. _"Now they've gone off to their star island." _Ai thought serenely. The funeral was over, and she sighed resignedly.

Gaara looked at Ai, she had a peaceful expressionon her face, and her tears dried, no longer falling from her blue eyes.

"Hold on tight. I want you to see something." He told her. She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled sand around them, and they disappeared.

When they re-appeared, they were no longer in the cemetery. They were on top of a rooftop, the full moon shining brightly.

"Wow. I-it's really pretty up here." Ai murmured.

"I always come up here at night." He said solemnly.

"Why? Don't you sleep?"

"No." He said bluntly.

"Why not?" She inquired.

"I thought I already told you."

"Oh-oh yeah..." She blushed. "I'm sorry Gaara-kun. But I should go home now."

"Right. Goodbye Ai-chan." He sighed. Ai slid off the roof, and walked home, the wind blowing the windchimes outside a nearby house. _"I'm glad that Gaara-kun was there for me."_ Ai thought. _"Wait a second! Why do I always call him that… And did he call me __**'chan'**__?!"_ She decided to brush it off and go home.

* * *

When she arrived home, a pang shot through her heart. She remembered the blood she saw in her parents' room just hours earlier. _'This house… It's full of too much pain. I can't stay here…' _She thought mournfully. She decided that living alone would cause even more pain. _'Maybe Mae could let me stay with her.' _She rushed into the kitchen and called up Mae. One ring passed. Then two. On the third one, Mae picked up.

"Hello?" Mae answered.

"Yeah, Mae... Could I stay with you for a while?" Ai asked nervously.

"Erm, why?"

"My house has too many bad memories." She stated softly.

"Oh… hold on, let me ask my parents." There was a long pause. "My mom says it's fine if you stay for a month or two, there's enough room in the guest room."

"Th-thank you."

"No problem, just pack your things and I'll stop by." Ai hung up, and rushed to her room. She dug up a couple of bags, and filled the first one with her clothes, a towel, a tube of toothpaste, and other necessities. The second she filled with some of her inexpensive jewelry, her headband, a picture of her parents, and a few things from her desk and dresser. The third she put some weapons in and a bunch of notebooks. Then she realized that she couldn't leave her mother's clothing, because she needed it for training and missions. So she forced herself into the bedroom, and kept her eyes in front of her. That's when the blood flashed before her eyes, and it was still splattered everywhere. She collapsed onto her knees, the blood staining her kimono. She tried to regain her balance by lifting her up with her hands on the ground, but they slipped, and she fell over on her back trembling. She lay there, the blood drenching her, but she was paralyzed by the memory of their bodies, and the genjutsu nightmare from training the day before. She had now become trapped in her own personal hell.

* * *

Mae pounded on the door. _'I hope she's alright'_ she thought. Deciding that Ai must've tripped or something, she slid the door open. "Ai?" She called. Mae received no response, so she looked down hallways and into rooms. She walked into one room that looked like it could have been Ai's, but it was empty. She continued down, and spotted an open door. She decided that Ai was in there, and walked in. The horror was displayed before her eyes, blood splashed everywhere, and Ai was lying trembling amongst it. "Ai?" she asked worriedly.

"Help..." Ai begged.

"Oh my God." She knelt down and pulled her quivering friend up. "What happened?" Ai explained to Mae how she fell and what she needed from the room. "Okay, you go get your bags, I'll get the clothes." Mae went over the closet, and took as much of the clothing as she could fit in the bag, and walked into the hallway where Ai was waiting. The two then walked out of the house, and over to Mae's.

* * *

**Alright, chapter completed. Yeah, I know it probably sucked eggs, and was short, but anyways, review, or else I might die! Or not. Who knows? Just review please!**


	6. Date?

**I hope everyone enjoyed Chapter 5; it was really hard for me to write it. This chapter is on a slightly lighter tone towards the middle. Also, does anyone know if Suna has a mall? If it doesn't, it's called FanFICTION for a reason. (Extra emphasis on Fiction.)**

**Special thanks to: nejitentenfangirl, FearTheFan, Ayumi Uchiha (anonymous reviewer), Miraki Azumi, Lilxsandxkitten, Luna Forest, and FlyingPotato666, who were all reviewers, or have supported my story. (Or both.) Gaara OOCness.**

Ai and Mae had finally arrived Mae's house. The two walked down the halls, in silence. The purple haired girl opened a door at the end of a hallway, and led Ai in.

"Well, it's not that great, not that bad either… but, uh, I hope you're okay with it." Mae said unusually awkwardly. Ai said nothing in response, but tried to croak a 'thank you', but her throat was too dry. Mae quickly scurried out the room and into the one next door.

"If you need anything, I'm right in here." The purple haired girl called, her voice muffled through the wall, "g'night." Ai sat down on the bed and slowly examined the room. The walls were a light gray color, with beige carpeting for the floor. The bed was a spring mattress on a metal frame, with a little end table with a standard office lamp on it right next to it. In the corner was a small closet, where Mae had set down one of her bags. Ai had dropped the bags she was carrying next to the bed. She released a long sigh, and bent down over her clothing bag. She pulled out a white night dress that went just above her knees and crawled into the bed.

_Blood flashed before her eyes. It was spilled from her mother's body. More blood splattered. It was from her father. She saw a tall shadowy man laughing, but it felt as if the sound was off. It blurred out from her parent's bedroom, to the training field. Everyone seemed to be talking, till a shuriken burst from no where and slashed directly through Machiko-sensei. That's when the sound seemingly burst on, and she heard the weapon slice through air and flesh, and the screams of the Jounin. A second shuriken exploded in, and started whirring towards Mae._

_"MAE-CHAN!" Ai screamed, but could not hear herself, just the sound of the wind and weapon. It slashed through, killing Mae in a single strike. Finally, one last one flew in, aiming for Gaara. _'No, no, no, no, NO!!' She _screeched unheard._ _It sliced through him like butter, red blood flying off. A maniacal cackle was heard from above. Tears streamed down her face, and she was enveloped in darkness. _

Ai bolted upright in the bed, sweat drenching her hair and forehead. Mae was sitting at the edge of the bed, a worried look on her face. A tall woman walked in, with brown eyes and short purple hair, a tone lighter than Mae's. She looked almost exactly like Mae, only with more mature and sharp features.

"Ai, are you alright?" Mae asked worriedly.

"Nnn?" Ai groaned. "I guess I'm fine." Mae breathed a sigh of relief, but still seemed to be worried. "Did… we miss training?" Ai asked.

"No, not yet, but-" Mae was cut off by her mother.

"Ai-san, you obviously can't go to training today, you're unwell"

"I'm fine!" Ai said over-confidently, and she went to the bathroom to get dressed.

* * *

Ai and Mae arrived at the training ground. Machiko-sensei was already there, and Gaara was there a few feet away. Gaara took a sideways glance at Ai. Her hair was disheveled, she wore the same clothes from the day before, and her cheeks were tear-streaked.

_'Wow, she looks like crap… I should do someth- NO! I don't care about her... just myself… am I right?"_

"Alright! Mae-san, Gaara-san, today is your match! This is preparation for the Chuunin exams!" Machiko said sternly, her eyes shifting. "Gaara is tough, but odds are that the Genin from other villages are ten-times tougher!"

"Then I'll be twenty times tougher." Mae said cockily. Ai gulped. She couldn't defeat her best friend earlier. She wouldn't pass the test... She wouldn't fulfill her dream….

"Ready… BEGIN!!" Machiko shouted. Mae slid back ten feet, and Gaara held his place. Mae started gaining momentum, the bandages tied around her thighs starting to stream backwards. Gaara braced himself, the sand from his gourd starting to flow outwards. As she ran, Mae removed a spool from her pockets, containing nearly invisible threads. She bit off a length of it, and made a hand sign. She disappeared in a puff of smoke. She popped behind Gaara, and bared the string in front of her. She attempted to get around her neck, but before she knew it, something warm and itchy was around her hand.

"What the- SAND??" Mae screeched. The sand tightened its grip, and Mae used her free hand to slowly reach for her back. She grabbed the sword, and took a fast slice of the sand. Gaara felt the chakra absorbed by her sword, and spun around. Mae continued to slash at the sand the continued to reach at her. Gaara had it now though. He stepped forward and punched her in the stomach. She collapsed, exhausted from the effort that went into the fight. The sun was high into the sky, even though before it had just risen.

* * *

Machiko sighed. She saw this result coming. _'They were almost evenly matched.'_

"Great job. Training… concludes." She said, flipping her brown hair. She started to walk off, and then just jumped onto the roof.

Ai stepped forward, still disheveled. She started towards Mae to help her up, but she saw Kankurou there first.

"Kankurou-san?" she asked. Kankurou turned his head and smiled.

"Oh, hi Ai-san!" he greeted.

"Kankurou-san, when'd you get here?" Ai was confused.

"Weeeellll… We didn't have training today, so I just thought I'd watch Mae-chan- I mean my little brother and see what he was doing." Kankurou said slightly blushing. He turned back around and extended his hand to the purple-haired Mae, and helped her up. Her face was as red as a beet.

"Thanks Kankurou-kun…" Mae muttered shyly. Ai grinned. Kankurou blushed. Gaara shifted his weight. Kankurou walked off, and Mae left in the other direction to go home. Gaara looked towards Ai and walked forward.

"Ai-chan… I noticed that you didn't look so good today and wondered if maybe you wanted to come with me out tonight."

"You mean…A date, Gaara-kun?" Ai asked blushing.

"No… I mean… Call it what you want Ai." Gaara turned his head to hide his own blushing face. "I'll come get you at six."

"It's a date!" Ai said playfully. Gaara groaned quietly.

When Ai got back to Mae's house, Mae was collapsed on the couch watching some made for T.V. soap opera.

"Hi Mae!" Ai said cheerfully.

"You seem happy." Mae said in a bored tone, crunching down a chip.

"Weelllll…. I guess I have a reason." She said dreamily.

"Then why?" The purple-haired girl asked, turning away from the crappy made-for-T.V. drama.

"Ano… Gaara asked me out earlier."

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"I told you that you two were made for each other!"

"He didn't actually use the context 'date.'"

"So?" Ai rolled her eyes.

"Quick, take a shower!"

"Why?"

"We're going shopping." Mae said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ok, ok." Ai murmured.

* * *

Mae dragged Ai around the Sunakagure Shopping Center, looking through windows. Mae would comment every once in a while, saying. "that might look good" or "It would look better on me". They came across an elegant long purple kimono with pink blossoms on it. "Oohhhh..." they said in unison. They glanced down to the tag that read "99,000 yen" (about 99 dollars). They screamed at the price.

"That's way too expensive!!" Mae shouted.

"Try not to draw too much attention to us." Ai whispered. They continued on their way.

"Ohh! This is my favorite store!" Mae exclaimed. She pulled Ai forcefully into the store. Ai looked around. She normally wasn't the kind of person to shop a lot. The shop had fancy dresses, shinobi attire, and street clothes. She relaxed and let Mae handle everything, and when it was all picked out, she payed 60,000 yen. (I guess about 60 dollars.)

* * *

Ai was dressed in a short black dress with a pink ribbon around the waist and pink lace at the bottom. She wore black and pink lace leggings. Her hair was in ponytail and she was wearing small black heels. (They sorta look like Tsunade's). It was 5:45 and she was just finishing getting dressed. She picked up the black purse that Mae had picked out for her. It was just big enough for three kunai and a few shuriken, as well as other basic femine stuff. _'You never know'_ she thought, dropping the weapons into the purse. She sat and waited at the doorstep for fifteen minutes. She looked up and saw the sand starting to swirl. Her face lit up as out of the sand a figure emerged. He wore a black flannel shirt with two buttons open to show a mesh shirt and black jeans. On his back was a gourd and his hair was bright red. "Gaara-kun!" Ai called out. He waved slightly, and his mouth actually curled slightly in a smile.

"Are you ready to go?" Gaara asked, his voice was gentler and a bit happier. She nodded and held onto his arm. The sand started to swirl again and the two departed.

They reappeared in front of a small local onigiri restaurant. They sat at two adjacent barstools. They both ordered vegetable bento and plum onigiri. When the waitress came back with the food, she gave them a glance and a smile. They ate in silence, occasionally looking at eachother. After they finished, Gaara payed the bill.

"Gaara-kun… Thank you." Ai smiled, her eyes beginning to water. "You really made me feel better." The tears of joy dripped down her cheeks.

"You look much nicer when you're not crying." Gaara said, wiping the tears from her face.

"Gaara-kun…."

_"You shouldn't run from your pain. If you don't endure it… It might never go away."_ Ai remembered that night. He stopped her from running. Comforted her. Helped her. But she still ran. From her own home. She ran to Mae. The tears poured out. They were of mixed emotions.

**That's it for Chapter Five. Thanks for bugging me to finish Ayumi. Your Madara Uchiha impression was funny. Yeah.**


	7. Chuunin

Tears streamed down her face. She wiped them off with her wrist. "I…I can't believe m-myself..." She stuttered, each breath heaving. She wasn't quite sobbing, but it wasn't just crying. Gaara looked a bit surprised. "I can't believe that I still ran away after that…" Gaara couldn't help but put his arm around her. An ache banged in his chest.

_ 'What is this feeling? Why am I doing this? How am I doing this for this girl?'_ He thought. Confused and angry at himself, he started to leave. Ai was nearly pushed down by surprise. Gaara turned around fully and walked off, sand swirling around him, until he disappeared. Ai felt hurt.

_'I thought he cared about me. I thought he might have actually cared about someone…' _She too was confused now. She started to go after him, but she realized that that wouldn't do anything. She turned and started to run towards her own home. She ran further and further, until she was finally on the porch. She looked at the ominous looking door. She opened it a little, and she felt a strange feeling, like she was trespassing. She slid it open all the way. She looked inside at her familiar home, the lights shut off, and the rooms empty. Silently she walked in and stepped all the way to her bedroom. Its aqua colored walls gave it a cool yet warm feel, and the bedspread was a warm pink. Touching its soft fabric made a nostalgic feeling swoop over her, even though she had been there just two days ago. The vanity in the corner of her room reflected her face. It showed a tired face, streaked with tears, the azure eyes showed every aspect of pain, and her mouth turned down into a frown of hurt and emotion. She barely recognized herself. Was this really the girl who had been training with her friends just two days ago? Was it really the girl who had been eating lunch in the basement a week ago? She moved a little and her mother's necklace made a beautiful jingling noise. Gently Ai walked out of her room, and stepped into her parents' room. The blood was cleaned up, and it showed signs of being analyzed and bagged by the black ops. Walking further into the room, enduring the pain and ambush of emotion, she opened the closet door, and touched some of the belongings. She saw her mother's plant clippers, and her father's spare kunai. A sad smile spread across her face and a tear fell from her eye. Deciding that she had to go back to Mae's before she started worrying, Ai got to her feet and left the house. She walked two streets down to Mae's house in silence. As she walked, she saw a figure walking in the opposite direction. Stopping, she looked across the street, and saw his face lit by a street lamp. His red hair was messier than usual and his emotionless eyes seemed to sparkle with tears from across the road.

_"Is Gaara crying?"_ Ai thought. _"No, it must just be an optical illusion or something. Should I talk to him?" _She looked at him again. _"No he probably doesn't want to talk to me anyways. After tonight, he must hate me."_ She rushed down the street, and knocked on the door to Mae's. Little did she know that Gaara had noticed her and was _actually_ crying. Never the less, she didn't know, and entered the house to see Mae wearing purple pajamas on the couch watching her sappy soap operas again.

"Oh, hi Ai." She said from the couch. Ai waved. "Jeez, you're a mess, was the date okay?"

"I wouldn't call it a date. It really wasn't." Ai shrugged. She explained to Mae how she wanted to go back to her own house, after much prodding for answers from the night.

"Ah, are you sure about that? I don't want you to be another emotional breakdown, it's really annoying." Mae teased with a smirk. Ai nodded, and grabbed her things from the guest room.

Ai woke up in her own bed. She stretched her arms and yawned. She looked at her clock and realized that if she didn't move faster, she'd be late for training. She hopped up slow as possible and opened the still packed bag on her dresser. As Ai was digging through it, she found something unfamiliar. It was a plastic shopping bag with a few items of clothes in it. Surprisingly, they were unfamiliar, and on top of them was a note.

_Haha Ai-chan. I tricked you! While you were dazed in the clothes store, I got you clothes! But you still had to pay for 'em. Sharpen up, or you'll never be a Chuunin!_

Mae had obviously duped her. "Shit." She murmured under her breath. Ai still didn't want them to go to waste, so she opened the bag. She picked up an aqua blue tight tank top and a white skirt slit at the ends for better movement. "Not bad at all…" She said, grabbing a pair of flexible black shorts.

That day during training, Machiko had announced something big. Chuunin exams. Again. Last time, Ai hadn't been in the village, and Mae hadn't had the proper training her old sensei thought she needed. This was odd, because Mae was one of the strongest kunoichis you'll probably ever meet. Mae was strong-willed, almost never gave up, had powerful taijutsu, and could absorb your chakra through a two sided katana. Despite her feminine appearance and girlish habits, she could really beat the crap out of you. Ai on the other hand, was swift and had powerful genjutsu, which could really mess with your head. Really. It was almost funny how two different girls could actually be best friends. Gaara, however, hadn't made a single comment this entire session. This was for the most part normal.

"You will run into the most powerful ninja you have ever seen during these exams. You will be pushed above and beyond the limit, and you're going to have to face your fears." A chill ran down Ai's spine, and she wondered how far she could be pushed. Pushed past a limit never required to be established? Shoved into the face of failure? Thrown out by the cruelties of life, and destroyed in the process? From what Ai heard, people _died_ during these exams. They were _murdered_ in cold blood for the sake of a title. They were annihilated just to be called a Chuunin. The true stories of life are the scariest.

**There you have it readers, unanswered questions and a newly added Q/A section. Ask Ai, Mae, Machiko, Kankuro, Temari, or Gaara any questions. Other characters are permitted sometimes. I guess, this is really just a bit of character development the fun and easy way. enjoy.**

**Sign lights up and three chairs are shown**

**Ai's Mailbag.**

**AI: Hi…**

**MAE: Sup.**

**MACHIKO: Wipe that look off your face. -glares-**


	8. Journey

**Hey peeps. I'm glad that you liked the last chapter! Here ya go, Chapter 8. :D Oh yeah, and I'm gonna need you readers to review more often! I'm only getting reviews from the same people, no offense. I've been twisting the story line about a bit, and I'm making it that Sasuke doesn't run away until later. Also, Ai's Mailbag needs to get more questions. Anime Supercon rocks against the rock!**

* * *

Three weeks had passed since Team Ainiuero **(bet you didn't remember that was their team name) **had started training for the Chuunin exams. Ai learned better genjutsus, Mae mastered a new technique with her sword, and Gaara was forced to learn better people skills. Now they were starting on their journey to Konohagure village with the two former members of Team Sand, and their new member, Ruekia Atamagawarui. Their senseis were going by a different route.

* * *

"Damn, I wonder what the hell the leaf village is like." Mae yelled as they ran through over the sand dunes outside of Suna.

"Oh, it's colder than it is here." Kankurou responded, who was running next to Mae.

"And it's obviously leafy." Ruekia said. She was running on Kankurou's other side, and she had shoulder length bright red hair with black tips. She also had pink pupil-less eyes, and wore a short black tank top, full body fishnets, a beige skirt, and black shorts. Mae glared at her.

"No duh, baka." She muttered.

"You wanna say that to my face?!" The redhead screamed angrily.

"Now, now, calm down"- Ai said softly. Kankurou sighed. Temari rolled her eyes, and Gaara kept on trekking ahead, using his sand as some form of transport. Basically it went like this, with Mae and Ruekia glaring at each other. The burning desert sun started to set, and even Gaara seemed to have a need to stop.

"We probably should stop for a while. Konoha'll be there tomorrow." Temari yawned. She stretched her lavender clad arms and slowed up. Gaara turned around his sand mechanism, which started to disappear into the sand around him and his gourd. Ai swiftly came to a stop, and Mae stopped with her. Ruekia stopped with Kankurou.

"Clingy _subeta_..." Mae whispered under her breath while glaring at the redhead nearby.

"Did you say something Mae-chan?" Ai asked curiously.

"Hm? Oh, nothing!" Mae responded, with an anime sweat drop. In the meanwhile, Ruekia was drooling all over Kankurou, and being clingy as ever. Gaara started walking towards Ai.

"Oh… Um… Hi Gaara-kun…" Ai mumbled flustered.

"Hn… Ai…" He responded, barely waving a hand. Gaara stopped there and stood next to her. Temari, who was a few feet from them, snickered at Kankurou, and pointed at Ai and Gaara, holding up her little finger. Kankurou broke out laughing, which sent Ruekia flying off his arm in the other direction. Fortunately, Ai didn't see this gesture, but only saw Ruekia crash comically into the sand.

"Owww…" She whined, rubbing the small of her back.

"Oops, sorry Atama-san." Kankurou apologized, still laughing.

"Hmph!" Ruekia grumbled as she started to stand.

"Atama-san, are you okay?" Ai asked, extending a hand.

"I'm perfectly able to stand on my own, thank you, and yes I'm fine!" The redhead stated rudely.

"Well you don't have to be mean about it…" Ai mumbled in responese as she walked away towards where she had left her bag. She opened her pack and removed her signature silky blue nightdress and a sleeping bag. Night had begun to approach faster and faster, and she felt the hot air alleviate to a cool one. "I'm gonna go get changed, I'll be right back!" Ai called before she retreated behind a sand dune. She undressed discreetly and quietly, but enjoyed the cool air. A soft breeze blew sand against her face. Still, she pulled the dress over her head, and she was lacing the back when an unlikely intruder walked "in" on her.

"Ai, hurry up"- Gaara started then paused. Ai's back was revealed by the half-laced night dress.

"Eep! Gaara-kun!" The black haired girl nearly screamed.

"Ai…"

"Hey is everything okay back here?" Kankurou called as he walked out behind the sand dune himself. He froze in his tracks. "Oh come on Gaara-sama, if you want to do_that_ could you do it a bit more discreetly! Or at least told me… You always get to have the most fun!"

"Kankurou you imbecile! This isn't what it looks like!" Gaara furiously held his head with two fingers. Sand started to snake its way to form a wall in behind of Ai.

"Eh heh, sorry Gaara-kun!" She yelled to the redhaired boy who was on the other side of the wall between them. "Really, I am, I should have been faster…"

"Yeah, you should have." He said before walking away. By the time the sand started dissipating, she had finished lacing it. Ai stepped out, and noticed that most everyone was already asleep. Mae was curled up in a dark blue sleeping bag next to where Ai had laid her own bag down and between where Kankurou was sleeping. Temari was sleeping on Kankurou's other side. Ruekia was sleeping away from the rest, probably because of the whole "incident" earlier. Ai had never seen someone get so worked up about tripping. _'Where'd Gaara-kun go?'_ Ai noticed that Gaara wasn't anywhere to be found. She sighed as she remembered what he had told her at least a month earlier when they were still taking classes._ "Because I'm a monster." _Ai felt a shiver go down her back, and wrapped her arms around herself. She started walking in the opposite direction of her sleeping bag, and saw a figure. Softly, she looked up at him, sitting on top of a sand dune. She saw short hair, waving in the wind. She approached, but kept her distance, and recognized him as none other than Gaara.

**Oh yeah, when Mae said 'Subeta' she was saying the Japanese phrase for "bitch", so you know there's a rivalry. Alright! End of Chapter 8! Or is it? . . Anyways, yeah, I went to the Anime Supercon yesterday. I cosplayed as Sand Village Michiyo, a character I made up. I gots a bunny hat! **

**-neon light flickers on- **

**_Ai's Mailbag _-crash- **

**AI: Okay, this one's from Ayumi Uchiha. **

****

**_that was a kind of random chapter I have a question for gaara why did you push ai away if you love her? and I know you love her. _**

**GAARA: Hn? –reads a piece of paper titled SCRIPT- Because of an emotional overload and… -crumples up paper and throws it away- I don't love her. So there. **

**AI: Okay… Why'd she call it a chapter? Its not like we're characteres in a book… **

**Next question. From chibisister. **

**_aaw!very cute!Gaara, you're being so sweet!I like it!keep up the good work! _**

****

**GAARA: Thanks?... **

**AI: I'm not getting any questions… Next Question… From FearTheFan… **

**_Gaara, how does it feel to have feelings after not feeling at all? _**

**GAARA: I'm not going to answer that. It "_feels_" weird. **

**MAE: I'm starting to feel left out! **

**AI: You're telling me. Anyways, next question. Another one from Ayumi Uchiha. **

**__**

**_yos 500 yen to which ever CHARACTER can tell me what is the name of the movie i watched at Michiyo's house _**

**__**

**AI: Umm… _Seven Samurai_? **

**MAE: _The Perfect Stranger_? **

**GAARA: Pf… _Pterodactyl_. **

**MACHIKO: Ohh, I'm short on cash! _Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness_. Haha, BOOMSTICK! **

**MICHIYO: The correct answer was… _Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness_! Ayumi, you owe Machiko-san 5 dollars. (500 yen.) **

**-neon light falls over with a bang and a small fire- **

**Hope you all enjoyed chapter eight! **


	9. Leaves

_I am in no way affiliated with nor own _**Naruto**_, _**Viz Media**_, _**Shonen Jump**_, or anything concerning such subjects. __**Naruto**__ is property of Masashi Kishimoto. Ai, Mae, Ruekia, and Machiko are original characters that are in no way related to the actual __**Naruto**__ anime._

**Chapter Nine! I'm back people! Hiatus is off! Well, this was probably the longest time from my computer/combination writer's block ever. But, I got it done, didn't I? XD Well, here you go. The long awaited, Ai of the Desert Chapter Nine! **

Gaara was on the sand dune, blood red hair flowing in the wind, the black sky above sprinkled with dusty stars. Ai felt the wind send chills down her back, and through her black hair. She could not tell why, but she could not take her eyes off him, perhaps from wondering why he was not asleep, or from the sight of him in such an elegant state. Yet, fatigue would get the best of her. Her heavy eyelids blinked; once, twice, three times. In a graceful manner, her slender form slumped and hit the sand. She was out cold.

Ai woke up to find herself chilled, with a blanket underneath her. _'That's weird. I must have passed out on the sand! But I don't remember having a blanket…'_

"Hypothermia." Ai heard an all too familiar voice say bluntly.

"Wh-what?" Ai asked Gaara in a confused voice."

"If I hadn't put that blanket there, you'd be dead. The sand would have absorbed your bodily heat."

"Oh..." Quickly, she turned her face away so he couldn't see her furious blushing. "I'm sorry Gaara-san…" That's when she realized what Gaara would have to do to move her. She felt her face burn a deeper red.

"You should be." He said before he walked away. Ai got up, the sun had barely risen. Her arms were nearly freezing, and she realized she was wearing only her nightdress. She stumbled over to where Mae still apparently was sleeping. Quietly she grasped her bag, and stepped over behind the sand dune to get changed. She grabbed a white tank top from her bag and a black slit-skirt. She pulled them on, after applying her skin-tight fishnet gloves and leggings, and tugged on a pair of black shorts. Doing her best to brush her hair in the desert winds, she tied her headband into her hair, and put her earrings in. While she was doing this, her hands met the necklace around her collar. Memories of her mother flashed by, and she held the talisman tightly. With her back against the sand, she closed her eyes for a mere second, and then wiped a tear from her eye. She repacked her bag, and walked away. As she did this, Ai nearly bumped into Gaara, but a hand of sand grabbed her arm and pushed her away.

"Were you crying?" Gaara asked, raising his eyebrow as if he had one.

"Huh?" Ai's eyes widened, "Eh, no, nope, all good here!" She waved her hands in front of her defensively.

"Right." He walked of dismissively and coldly. Ai sighed and wiped her brow. She knew that Gaara didn't believe her, but she also knew that he was so cold that he didn't care. By the time she had gotten back to the camp area, everyone was awake and pursuing morning preparations. Mae was running a brush through her shiny violet hair, Temari was tying the sash around her waist, Kankurou was adding finishing touches to his make-up, and Ruekia was tossing her things into her bag. This was the last day of their journey.

Teams Ainiuero and Sand, exhausted and fatigued, looked up at the tree surrounded Konoha gate. In the setting sun, the leaves that were blown by the wind seemed to shine pink and gold. Ai's eyes glistened as she rested her arms on her knees, slightly hunched over while standing. Mae's purple hair was held temporarily in a messy ponytail, and her three black hair barrettes were loosened, more hair than ever in her face. In fact, everyone was in a state of fatigue except for Gaara, his temper cool as his icy eyes. Two Chuunin, clad in their green vests, were asking Temari questions about there purpose.

"You are the two teams from Sand?" One of them asked, scribbling notes on a clip board.

"Yes. If you check, we'll be in the list of competing Genin."

"Do you have identification?" The other shinobi inquired.

"Yeah." Temari flashed the two a card.

"Do they have ID?" Ai, Mae, Ruekia, Kankurou and Gaara pulled identification cards from their kunai pouches. "Everything appears to be in due order. I'll just stamp these then." The Chuunin took out a red rubber stamp and imprinted them on their cards, so each one read "TESTING" in bold letters. "Welcome to the Leaf Village, lets make these tests as _orderly_ as possible, shall we?" The two Chuunin used a pulley to wrench open the gates, and as they creaked open, Ai saw the most interesting village she'd ever seen. There were several tall buildings, some that appeared to be built on top of each other. They were brightly painted and street signs and advertisements were scattered across the town. It was nothing like Sunakagure. Despite how much Ai was enchanted by the town, Temari, Kankurou and Gaara were unimpressed, as if they had seen it all before. Mae and Ruekia were too busy death glaring each other to notice anything. You could practically see sparks flying.

"Yep. So here we are." Kankurou said.

"Yeah…" Ai murmured. Even though she truly wanted to explore the city, something made her extremely sleepy. Probably the fact that the night before she had gotten practically no sleep and that they had been on the move for two days.

"Uh, Kankurou-kun, where are we going to stay?" Ruekia asked, in the flirtatious tone that she always used with him.

"That's an easy one, Atama-san. We had Baki-sensei and Team Ainiuero's sensei rent us some hotel rooms." Kankurou was as oblivious as ever to Atamagarui's advances.

"Oh, thank God." Mae sighed in relief. If you looked closely, you'd notice that she had bags under her eyes, and it seemed that the traveling had taken quite a toll on her. Quite a weighted toll. The second after they said this, they started their way to the hotel.

Upon arriving at the hotel, and half and hour of heated debating who sleeps where and in what room, everyone had finally settled their things in. The rooms were organized like this: Ai, Mae, Temari and Ruekia were to share the larger room, which had two twinsized beds and a couch pull-out bed, and Kankurou and Gaara were to reside in the opposing room. Kankurou had not originally desired to be left alone in a small room with Gaara, but in order to keep the peace between Ruekia and Mae, he had no choice. As Ai was settling in her things on her designated twin bed, she couldn't help but feel a tug of anxiety inside her. She was participating in one of the largest exams in the whole continent, maybe even beyond that. No matter how she put it, she couldn't help but think of how much she'd keep her team behind. _"Gaara-kun and Mae-chan… are so strong… I'm a huge burden to them I bet." _She dragged her belongings out of her bag and set them on the night stand next to her. She left her clothes folded in her bag and left that under the bed. _"I really don't believe how I can be on a team with such powerful companions. It makes me feel so…. Weak." _Ai's heart felt heavy, and a terrible feeling of dread and fear lay in her chest. "These exams will be way harder than I expected." Ai murmured in self-loathe as she collapsed on the hotel bed.

**End of Ai of the Desert Chapter Nine.**

**light flickers on **

**AI'S MAILBAG**

**AI: Konnichiwa! This is the third installment of Ai's Mailbag. Whats up people!**

**MAE: Hey guys, whats up with not being on air in a while.**

**GAARA: Apparently the "author" was on Hiatus… hn.**

**AI: Wow.**

**MAE: Right.**

**AI: Okay, so lets read what reviews the readers have sent us!**

_**how do you guys FEEL about being asked stupid questions, and Sasgay's gay**_

_**-from FearTheFan**_

**AI: Well, it kinda cuts into my time contemplating the meaning of life. And, who?**

**MAE: It's a drag 'cause I lose precious sleep. What? Gay?**

**GAARA: It's demeaning. Sasuke IS gay.**

**RUEKIA: Uh, it doesn't, like, concern me or Kankurou-kun, so uhh… yeah.**

**MAE: Get outta here Ruekia-baka!**

**MACHIKO: It's great 'cause I got five bucks!**

_**Mae: i will give u 500 yento beat up Ruekia  
Ai: do u dream of Gaara  
Gaara: if u could beat up only 1 of ur sibs who would it be?  
Ruekia: do u have Karin sindrom or somthing?  
Michi:can u add questions 2 art is a bang?  
byes**_

_**-from Ayumi Uchiha**_

**MAE: 500 yen huh? Well…. runs out of room and drags Ruekia by the arm Take that biyatch! screams **

**AI: Uh.. Er… Why do my dreams concern you? whispers Yes!**

**GAARA: Oh. Tough choice. rolls eyes Kankurou. **

**RUEKIA: Woah, question for me. Uh, Karin syndrome? My doctor says so, but I don't quite think I match the criteria.**

**MICHI: Uhm… Sure? curtain falls and everyone stares Pay no attention to the writer behind the curtain! **

_**lawl. I likes this story alot. its interesting. plz update soon!**_

_**-from **__**Hibiki-chan**_

**AI: Thanks.**

**MAE: Wooh, we're interesting.**

**GAARA: …**

**AI:Here's another from Ayumi Uchiha!**

_**LOL sents over 500 yen there u go!!3**_

**MACHIKO: Sweet! I'm gonna go buy a pack of gum!!**

_**MICHI-CHI! I READ YOUR CHAPTER! HAPPY NESS! I HAVE A QUESTION FOR. . . EVERYONE! 100 YEN IF YOU CAN GUESS MY HALLOWEEN COSTUME!  
YOU WROTE A GOOD CHAPTER MICHI-CHI! NOW TO GET HYPER BEFORE WE HAVE P.E. TOMORROW!**_

_**-from teal-flowers**_

**MICHIYO, AI, MAE, AND GAARA: Thank you!**

**AI: Well, that's all our reviews! See you in… Chapter Ten! **

**MAE: Thank you for supporting our story from the beginning… FearTheFan and Ayumi Uchiha! And to teal-flowers as well!**

**Remember, Chapter 10 is going to be Ai of the Desert's Anniversary! Celebrating a whole ten chapters and a year and a half of writing and dedicated reading! Thank you all! Keep your eyes out for Chapter 10! Michi… Out!**


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